'Jihad Jack' wins third bid for bail

Page Tools

Melbourne terror suspect "Jihad Jack" Thomas was freed yesterday
on $100,000 bail after claiming he was tortured in Pakistan.

Joseph Terrence Thomas, 31, told a psychiatrist last week he was
threatened with execution and that his wife would be raped after
his arrest in Pakistan two years ago.

Consultant psychiatrist Mark Ryan reported that during his time
in solitary confinement at Barwon Prison, Thomas spoke of
"intrusive memories" of his detention in Pakistan, where he claimed
he heard the screams of other prisoners being tortured.

The married father of two compared his conditions in maximum
security at Barwon with the isolation, uncertainty and helplessness
he felt in Pakistan over five months.

Thomas' untested allegations formed part of his third
application for bail, which was granted in Melbourne Magistrates
Court.

The Federal Government said last night it would look at
appealing the decision. A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Philip
Ruddock said he considered the matter very serious and would
consult the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on the
appropriateness of the bail.

Thomas, the accused "sleeper" agent allegedly recruited by Osama
bin Laden to undertake surveillance work in Australia, broke down
and sobbed when chief magistrate Ian Gray announced he would get
bail.

Mr Gray found that Thomas, who faces two terror-related charges
with a total maximum sentence of 50 years jail, had shown
exceptional circumstances to justify his release.

Mr Gray ruled that a combination of factors, which included Dr
Ryan's report and concessions by authorities, strengthened Thomas'
application.

Thomas was arrested in Pakistan while trying to leave on an
altered passport after travelling to Afghanistan in 2001. He is
accused of undergoing military training at a camp near Kandahar, of
fighting for al-Qaeda and later receiving funds and support from
the group.

Mr Gray first refused Thomas bail in November before a second
application was refused by Justice Hartley Hansen in the Supreme
Court in December.

Thomas' solicitor Robert Stary argued a formal record of
interview with Thomas was "tainted" and would be inadmissable at
trial because he had been denied legal rights.

Mr Stary said Australian authorities had only recently confirmed
the presence of ASIO and AFP members at some of the Pakistan
interviews in early 2003.

While Dr Ryan's report was untested by the prosecution, the
combined "added weight" for granting bail also included Thomas'
"unusual and out of the ordinary" conditions of detention at Barwon
and his personal circumstances, Mr Gray said.

He accepted that Thomas' present custody conditions were "highly
restrictive" and put his mental state at risk.

Thomas, a former taxi driver and Muslim convert, lived in
Werribee after returning from Pakistan under security escort in
June, 2003, before his arrest late last year.

The prosecution argued Mr Stary's submission that Thomas had
returned to normal life in Melbourne without a suggestion of any
contact with terror-related persons equally fitted the behaviour of
a sleeper.

In his decision yesterday, Mr Gray read excerpts from Dr Ryan's
report in which Thomas recalled being hooded, handcuffed and
chained in Pakistani custody and of hearing the screams of
others.

Thomas was released with a surety of $100,000 and conditions
that include he report twice daily to police, not leave Australia
or apply for a passport.